BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger fields questions from the media on the shooting death of Oscar Grant, at the BART headquarters in Oakland, Calif., Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. Grant was shot and killed by a BART police officer after an altercation on a train station platform in Oakland on New Year's Day. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger fields questions from the media on the shooting death of Oscar Grant, at the BART headquarters in Oakland, Calif., Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. Grant was shot and killed by a BART

(04-13) 10:37 PDT OAKLAND -- Embattled BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger, whose job has been endangered since a vote to fire her in February, resigned on Wednesday after reaching a severance deal worth nearly $1 million.

The BART Board of Directors will consider today whether to accept her resignation and ratify the $958,000 settlement, which was negotiated by a committee of directors. The board is also expected to hire an interim general manager and start a search for a new leader for the regional rail transit agency.

Dugger's resignation, or termination, has been expected since Feb. 10, when BART directors voted 5-4 to fire her during a closed meeting. The directors later rescinded that vote after their attorney said the action violated state open-meeting laws. Since then, a board committee has been negotiating with Dugger over her departure.

The agreement includes roughly $600,000 guaranteed by her contract - including 15 months of salary plus unused vacation, sick leave and compensatory pay - and about $350,000 "to ensure a smooth transition and to avoid any litigation between the parties," according to a BART news release.

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A need to be fair

Director Joel Keller, who voted against firing Dugger in February, said he supported the deal. He said the district needs to be fair to the general manager and needs to move quickly to hire a replacement.

A lawsuit could drag on for years, muddy BART's reputation and make it tougher to attract top candidates, Keller said. The $350,000 figure, he said, is what the district would likely spend defending itself against a lawsuit. Losing a lawsuit could cost much more.

Neither BART officials nor Dugger would say what issues could have resulted in her filing a lawsuit.

Keller said he understands BART riders may be outraged at the size of the deal.

"It's pretty stupid on the face of it," he said. "This is a lot of money, and the criticism that will be coming to me and the other board members is justified. It's a poor expenditure of public funds."

Dugger's forced resignation "is something that never should have happened," he said. "But the settlement is necessary to move on and to protect the district."

Director John McPartland, who voted to fire Dugger, said he considered the tentative settlement reasonable, and that the board's February vote to fire her "had nothing to do with the amount of money" she would receive to leave.

Settlements not uncommon

Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, said it is not uncommon to see big-dollar settlements for government executives who are dismissed.

"It's similar to what happens in private industry - the golden parachute," he said. "We're seeing more of it in government, usually to avoid lawsuits."

The directors who sought Dugger's dismissal declined to discuss publicly their reasons. However, in the past some have complained that she was not good at communicating with the board or following their directions.

Dugger's letter of resignation cites her accomplishments, and says her last day will be April 22. It will conclude a 19-year career at BART, including four as general manager.

During her tenure as general manager, Dugger weathered controversy over the BART police killing of Oscar Grant and the agency's loss of $70 million in federal stimulus funds for the Oakland Airport Connector, although she eventually found another source for the money. She also managed to win hard-fought work-rule changes from BART's labor unions in 2009 while averting a strike.

And, at today's meeting, she will present the BART directors with a preliminary operating budget that includes a $28 million surplus.